Frequency hopping pattern for narrowband internet-of-things in unlicensed spectrum

ABSTRACT

Described herein are methods and apparatus for NB-IoT devices to operate in unlicensed spectrum. Frequency hopping patterns are disclosed that enable compliance with applicable regulations.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/623,651 filed on Jan. 30, 2018, U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/658,259 filed on Apr. 16, 2018, U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/674,234 filed on May 21, 2018, U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/683,823 filed on Jun. 12,2018, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62/693,734filed on Jul. 3, 2018, which are all incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to wireless networks andcommunications systems. Some embodiments relate to cellularcommunication networks including 3GPP (Third Generation PartnershipProject) networks, 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, 3GPP LTE-A(LTE Advanced), and 3GPP fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR)networks, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in thisrespect.

BACKGROUND

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a concept in which a large number ofcomputing devices are interconnected to each other and to the Internetto provide functionality and data acquisition at relatively low levels.IoT is envisioned as a significantly important technology component,which has huge potential, and may change our daily life entirely byenabling connectivity between tons of devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a Bluetooth frequency hopping selection kernel.

FIG. 2 illustrates the internal structure of the Perm5 operator.

FIG. 3. illustrates a modified Perm5 operator in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a modified Perm5 operator in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates sequence generation through a concatenation oflength-32 and length-16 sequence in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of sequence generation through aconcatenation of length-2, length-32 and length-16 sequence inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of sequence generation through aconcatenation of length-2, length-32 and length-16 sequence inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example UE and a base station (BS) such as an el Bor gNB according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, an IoT device (also referred to as a “Machine-TypeCommunication device” or “MTC device”) may include an autonomous orsemiautonomous device that performs one or more functions, such assensing or control, among others, in communication with other IoTdevices and a wider network, such as the Internet. Often, IoT devicesare limited in memory, size, or functionality, allowing larger numbersto be deployed for a similar cost to smaller numbers of larger devices.However, an IoT device may be a smart phone, laptop, tablet, or PC, orother larger device. Further, an IoT device may be a virtual device,such as an application on a smart phone or other computing device. IoTdevices may include IoT gateways, used to couple IoT devices to otherIoT devices and to cloud applications, for data storage, processcontrol, and the like. IoT devices (or groups of IoT devices) may beaccessible through remote computers, servers, and other systems, forexample, to control systems or access data. A group or set of IoTdevices that are connected to one another using wired and/or wirelesstechnologies may be referred to as a “network of IoT devices,” an “IoTnetwork,” or the like.

Networks of IoT devices may be used for a wide variety of applicationsin various deployment scenarios, including commercial and homeautomation, smart factories or smart manufacturing, smart cities, smartenvironment, smart agriculture, and smart health systems. For example,IoT networks may be used for water distribution systems, electric powerdistribution systems, pipeline control systems, plant control systems,light switches, thermostats, locks, cameras, alarms, motion sensors, andthe like.

Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has standardized two designsto support IoT services—enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) andNarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT). As eMTC and NB-IoT UEs will be deployed in hugenumbers, lowering the cost of these UEs is a key enabler forimplementation of IoT. Also, low power consumption is desirable toextend the life time of the battery. In addition, there are substantialuse cases of devices deployed deep inside buildings, which would requirecoverage enhancement in comparison to the defined LTE cell coveragefootprint. In summary, eMTC, and NB-IoT techniques are designed toensure that the UEs have low cost, low power consumption, and enhancedcoverage.

LTE Operation in Unlicensed Spectrum

Both Release (Rel)-13 eMTC and NB-IoT devices operate in licensedspectrum. On the other hand, the scarcity of licensed spectrum in lowfrequency band results in a deficit in the data rate boost. Thus, thereare emerging interests in the operation of LTE systems in unlicensedspectrum.

Potential LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum includes, but is notlimited to the Carrier Aggregation based on Licensed Assisted Access(LAA)/enhanced LAA (eLAA) systems, LTE operation in the unlicensedspectrum via dual connectivity (DC), and the standalone LTE system inthe unlicensed spectrum, where LTE-based technology solely operates inunlicensed spectrum without requiring an “anchor” in licensedspectrum—called MulteFire. To extend the benefits of LTE IoT designsinto unlicensed spectrum, MulteFire 1.1 is expected to specify thedesign for Unlicensed-IoT (U-IoT). The present disclosure is related toU-IoT systems, with focus on the NB-IoT based design.

Regulations in Unlicensed Spectrum

The target band for narrowband unlicensed IoT is the sub-1 GHz band forboth United States (US), European Union (EU), and China. However, theembodiments herein may be applicable to other frequency bands.Regulation defines the operation of such a system for either digitalmodulation or frequency hopping. Digital modulation requires systemBW>500 KHz with power spectral density (PSD) limitation of 8 dBm/3 kHz;while frequency hopping has instead limitations on the duty cycle, andthe number of hops. Different number of hops result in different maxtransmission power. In the EU, for this specific band four newsub-channels have been proposed to be used. These sub-channels are:865.6 MHz˜865.8 MHz, 866.2 MHz˜866.4 MHz, 866.8MHz˜867.0 MHz,867.4MHz˜867.6 MHz. In the EU, the regulation regarding thesesub-channels states that: 1) maximum EIRP is 27 dBm; 2) adaptive powercontrol is required; 3) bandwidth is smaller than 200 kHz; 4) the dutycycle for network access points is smaller than 10%, otherwise this is2.5% for other types of equipment. While operating a NB-IoT system inthis band as a digital modulation system is appealing, operating as a FHsystem provides more benefits: frequency diversity is exploited byoperating the system as FH system, while the initial access timing mightbe longer. More importantly, digital modulation with 3 RB has the sameTx power as FH with 1 RB, which translates in a loss in terms ofcoverage of about ˜5 dB.

Frequency Hopping Pattern

When operating NB-IoT-U as a frequency hopping system, the data channeland the anchor channel hops from one channel to another. For thisreason, it is advisable to opportunely design the hopping pattern, suchthat primary cell (PCell), secondary cell(s) (SCell(s)), and also UEsmight be able to know the hopping channel to which the system might hopfrom a set of minimum information, even though they might not be able touse it due to collisions with incumbent technologies.

Frequency Hopping Sequences

In LTE, there is no concept of frequency hopping sequence since thesystem does not need to operate in a frequency hopping spread spectrummanner. However, in eMTC-U the design should abide by the regulations indifferent regions, frequency hopping is the most appropriate forms ofmodulations, due to more relaxed power spectrum density (PSD)limitation.

In Bluetooth technologies, a signal may rapidly hop among a pre-definedset of channels in a pre-defined order in order to combat narrowbandinterference, and reduce likelihood of being jammed. In this technology,the hopping sequence is a function of the part of the MAC address (theLAP field which is the lower part of the address containing 24 bits, andupper address part (UAP) field which is the upper part of the addresscontaining 8 bits for a total for 28 bits that we refer here as A₂₇₋₀),and the clock (27 bits may be referred to as CLK₂₇₋₁) of the device. Thesequence in this case is generated as illustrated in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, Perm5 is the operator permutations, which takes two inputs, aparameter Z and a parameter P, and provide based on P a swapped versionof Z on its output R. This block includes 14 cascade cells, where eachcell is responsible for swapping two bits. The internal structure of theoperator Perm5 block is illustrated in FIG. 2. The cell can constructedby using 2 multiplexer devices, each one is a 2×1 multiplexer. The cellbody is illustrated in right side of FIG. 2.

In a WiFi system the frequency hopping pattern is defined by permutingall the frequency channels available defined in Table 38, 39, 40 and 41of ANSI/IEEE Std 802.11, Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control(MAC) and Physical layer (PHY) specifications, such that the frequencyhopping patter F_(X) is:

F _(X) ={f _(x)(1), f _(x)(2), . . . f _(x)(p)}  (1)

where “f_(x)(i)”' is the channel number for the i^(th) frequency in then^(th) hopping patter, and “p” is the number of frequency channels inhopping pattern. Given the hoping patter number, “x”, and the index forthe next frequency, “i”, the channel number shall be defined to be asfollows

$\begin{matrix}{\begin{matrix}{{{fx}(i)} = {{\lbrack {{b(i)} + x} \rbrack \mspace{14mu} {mod}\mspace{14mu} (79)} + {2\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {North}\mspace{14mu} {America}\mspace{14mu} {and}\mspace{14mu} {most}}}} \\{{{{of}\mspace{14mu} {Europe}},{{with}\mspace{14mu} {b(i)}\mspace{14mu} {defined}\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {Table}\mspace{14mu} 1.}}} \\{= {{\lbrack {( {i - 1} )^{\prime}x} \rbrack \mspace{14mu} {mod}\mspace{14mu} (23)} + {73\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {{Japan}.}}}} \\{= {{\lbrack {{b(i)} + x} \rbrack \mspace{14mu} {mod}\mspace{14mu} (27)} + {47\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {Spain}\mspace{14mu} {with}\mspace{14mu} {b(i)}\mspace{14mu} {defined}}}} \\{{{in}\mspace{14mu} {Table}\mspace{14mu} 2.}} \\{= {{\lbrack {{b(i)} + x} \rbrack \mspace{14mu} {mod}\mspace{14mu} (35)} + {48\mspace{14mu} {in}\mspace{14mu} {France}\mspace{14mu} {with}\mspace{14mu} {b(i)}\mspace{14mu} {defined}}}} \\{{{in}\mspace{14mu} {Table}\mspace{14mu} 3.}}\end{matrix}\quad} & (2)\end{matrix}$

TABLE 1 Base hopping sequence b(i) for North America and most of Europei b(i)  1 0  2 23  3 62  4 8  5 43  6 16  7 71  8 47  9 19 10 61 11 7612 29 13 59 14 22 15 52 16 63 17 26 18 77 19 31 20 2 21 18 22 11 23 3624 71 25 54 26 69 27 21 28 3 29 37 30 10 31 34 32 66 33 7 34 68 35 75 364 37 60 38 27 39 12 40 25 41 14 42 57 43 41 44 74 45 32 46 70 47 9 48 5849 78 50 45 51 20 52 73 53 64 54 39 55 13 56 33 57 65 58 50 59 56 60 4261 48 62 15 63 5 64 17 65 6 66 67 67 49 68 40 69 1 70 28 71 55 72 35 7353 74 24 75 44 76 51 77 38 78 30 79 46 — —

NB-IoT-U Frequency Hopping Sequences

In NB-IoT-U, as mentioned above, if the system is operated as afrequency hopping system the channels hops from one channel to another.However, differently than eMTC-U, NB-IoT-U does not rely on channelaccess procedures such as LBT. In order to provide, the UE(s), PCell andSCell(s) the knowledge related to channel to which the system hops, inthe following a few options on how to design a hopping sequence areprovided. In embodiments, in order to univocally generate a hoppingsequence, this is a function of the SFN (system frame number of subframenumber), or hyper frame number (HEN), and also the PCI (physical cellidentity), which may reduce the likelihood of collisions during MCOoperation or concurrent use of resources.

In embodiments, the hopping sequence includes either data channels andthe anchor channel. In embodiments, each anchor channel refers to aspecific set of channels, and each anchor channel would refer to its ownhopping sequence for the data channels included in the set. Inembodiments, multiple anchor channels are supported, and in addition tohave a hopping sequence for each anchor channel, there is also afrequency sequence pattern for the anchor channels. Embodiments hereinprovide different options on how to design a frequency hopping patternfor either the anchor channel or the data channels. In the followingdiscussion, the embodiments may assume 5 anchor channels are supported,and 50 data channels are used, but the principles and options providedherein may be applicable to systems comprising any number of anchorchannels and/or any number of data channels.

Hopping Sequence for Anchor Channel

In embodiments, multiple anchor channels are supported, e.g.,N_(Anch)=5. In embodiments, the frequency hopping pattern for multipleanchor channels is fixed. In embodiments, only one anchor channel issupported, and it always occur on the same frequency. In embodiments, ifmultiple anchor channels are supported, in order to minimize co-channelinterference, the set of channels comprising N_(Anch) elements, whichform the set of anchor channels are selected such that they are farapart from each other. For instance given Y={Y₁, Y₂, . . . Y_(NAnch)},the set of anchor channels |Y_(i)−Y_(j)|>M, for all i and j. Inembodiments, the frequency hopping sequence for data channels and anchorchannels is defined separately. In embodiments, given a set of anchorchannel Y comprising N_(Anch) channels, which is a predefined set orconfigured through higher layer signaling, a hopping sequence can beformed by using one of the methods provided herein.

In embodiments, the hopping sequence is givens as Y(F_(X)), whereF_(X)={f_(x)(1), f_(x)(2), . . . f_(x)(p)} is formed in a similar manneras Wi-Fi. For instance

f _(x)(i)=[b _(x)(i)+x]mod N _(Anch)  (3)

where x is proportional to PCI, SFN or the HFN, while b_(x)(i) is tablesimilar to Table 1-3 above, which is uniquely defined for each value ofPCI and or SFN/HFN, and contain K elements, where K is the periodicityof the sequence. In embodiments, once all the permutations of N_(Anch)elements are formed, the table b_(x)(i) is formed by down-selecting somespecific elements. In embodiments, in order to mitigate inter-cellinterference, different tables are formed for different PCI values.

In embodiments, a pre-defined base pattern is introduced, which can beone of the elements of the full permutations of N_(Anch) elements minusone, for instance if N_(Anch)=5, the sequence could be b(i)={0, 3, 2, 4,1}. In embodiments, the initial sequence is obtained from Table I, byselecting the sequence of elements lower than N_(Anch), which lead tothe sequence b(i)={0,1,3,2,4} if N_(Anch)=5.

In embodiments, the base sequence can be generated through a linearcongruential generator. In embodiments, the base sequence is generatedas follows:

b(i)=[A*i+B]mod N _(Anch)  (4)

where A and B can be fixed or higher layer configurable. In one example,A=2 and B=N_(Anch)−1.Once the base sequence is selected, the sequence can be as follows:

F _(X) =b(W)+Q]mod N _(Anch)  (5)

In embodiments, W and Q depend on PCI value, SFN/HFN, or a parameterproportional to the periodicity of the anchor channel, which indicatesthe frame number over which a transmission over the anchor channeloccur. As an example, W=PCI₀ ^(N) ^(Anch) xor HFN₀ ^(N) _(Anch) andQ=HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Anch) where A_(x:y) ^(N) ^(Anch) indicates that bitx to y are used for a representation of A in base N_(Anch). Inembodiments, given the base sequence b(i), a circular shift can beapplied to it to form the hopping sequence, as follows:

-   -   a. Given the base sequence b(i), a circular shift version can be        formed as follows:

b′(i)=circshit(b(i),Q)  (6)

-   -    where Q=HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Anch)    -   b. The hopping sequence can be formed as

F _(X) =[b′(i)+Q]mod N _(Anch)  (7)

In embodiments, once the base sequence is selected, the hopping sequenceis generated similarly as in Bluetooth by applying a permutationoperator “Perm” as follows:

F _(X)=Perm [X,P,T]  (8)

where

X=[b+Q]mod N _(Anch)  (9)

and P and T are function of PCI and/or HFN/SFN. In embodiments,

X=[b′+Q]mod N _(Anch)  (10)

where b′ is obtained as a cyclic shift version of the base sequence b,as for example as it is given in equation (6). In one example,Q=HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Anch) where A_(x:y) ^(N) ^(Anch) indicates that bitx to y are used for a representation of A in base N_(Anch). Inembodiments, the Perm function is obtained by reusing the Perm5 functiondefined in Bluetooth standard with some modification: for instance theinput parameter Z is a sequence of values and not a binaryrepresentation of a value, and P is function of PCI and SFN/HFN. Theoperator Perm has as input the base sequence b or b′, and has twocontrol inputs:

-   -   a. The vector of bits P, which controls the swapping cells,        whose functionality is described in the lower illustration in        FIG. 3.    -   b. A control value T, which is the control information of a        multiplexer, which provides as output a single decimal value R₀,        which can be one of the values within the set {b′₀, b′₂, b′₃,        b′₄,} depending on the value of T. For instance if T=0, R₀=b′₀;        if T=1, R₀=b′₁; if T=2, R₀=b′₂; if T=3, R₀=b′₃; if T=4, R₀=b′₄.

The structure of the operator Perm is illustrated in FIG. 3. Inembodiments, as an example P_(13:0)=[PCI+512*HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Anch)]mod 4096 or P_(13:0)=[PCI*N_(Anch)̂(|end:1|)+HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Anch)]mod 4096. In embodiments, T=HFN mod N_(Anch). In embodiments, ifN_(Anch)=5 the modified Perm5 operator described in FIG. 3 can be usedas is. In one, embodiment, if N_(Anch)<5, only few of the swapping cellsare used to scramble the first N_(Anch) rows. For example, ifN_(Anch)=4, P_({10,8,7,4,3})=0, while for instanceP_({13,12,11,9,6,5,2,1,0})=[HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Anch) +PCI]mod 512. Inthis case, T=HFN mod 4 meaning that R₀ can only assume value R₀={b′₀,b′₁, b′₂, b′₃}.

General Hopping Sequence without Constraint

In embodiments, the NB-IoT-U system operates as a frequency hoppingsystem. In embodiments, the frequency hopping sequence provides thepattern for both anchor channels and data channels. In embodiments, thefrequency hopping sequence provides for data channels and anchorchannels is defined separately. In embodiments, given a set offrequencies Y comprising N_(chan) channels, which is predefined, orindicated through MIB or SIB, a hopping sequence can be formed by usingone of the methods provided in this section. In embodiments, the hoppingsequence Y(F_(X)), where F_(X) is formed in a similar manner as Wi-Fi.For instance

F _(X) =[b(i)+x]mod N _(chan)  (11)

where x is proportional to PCI, SFN or the HFN, while b(i) is tablesimilar to Table 1-3 above, which is uniquely defined for each value ofPCI and or SFN/HFN, and contain K elements, where K is the periodicityof the sequence. In embodiments, the value of i is proportional toSFN/HFN. In embodiments, once all the permutations of N_(chan) elementsare formed, and the table b(i) is created by down-selecting somespecific elements from the total set of permutations. In embodiments, inorder to mitigate inter-cell interference, different tables are formedfor different PCI values. In embodiments, a pre-defined base pattern isintroduced, which can be one of the elements of the full permutations ofN_(chan). In embodiments, the initial sequence is obtained from Table I,by selecting the sequence of elements lower than N_(chan), which leadsto the sequence provided in Table 4, in case N_(chan)=50.

TABLE 4 b(i) sequence i b(i) 1 0 2 23 3 8 4 43 5 16 6 47 7 19 8 29 9 2210 26 11 31 12 2 13 18 14 11 15 36 16 21 17 3 18 37 19 10 20 34 21 7 224 23 27 24 12 25 25 26 14 27 41 28 32 29 9 30 45 31 20 32 39 33 13 34 3335 42 36 48 37 15 38 5 39 17 40 6 41 49 42 40 43 1 44 28 45 35 46 24 4744 48 38 49 30 50 36In embodiments, the base sequence can be generated through a linearcongruential generator. In embodiments, the base sequence is generatedas follows:

b(i)=[A*i+B]mod N _(chan)  (12)

where A and B can be fixed or higher layer configurable. In one example,A=9 and B=N_(Anch)−1.In embodiments, once the base sequence is selected, the sequence can beobtained as follows:

F _(X) =[b(W)+Q]mod N _(chan)  (13)

In embodiments, W and Q depend on PCI value, SFN/HFN: As an example,W=PCI₀ ^(N) ^(Chan) xor HFN₀ ^(N) ^(Chan) and Q=HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Chan)where A_(x:y) ^(N) ^(Chan) indicates that bit x to y are used for arepresentation of A in base N_(Chan). In embodiments, given the basesequence b(i), a circular shift can be applied to it to form the hoppingsequence as follows:

-   -   a. Given the base sequence b(i), a circular shift version can be        formed as follows:

b′(i)=circshit(b(i),Q)  (14)

-   -    where Q is proportional to the SFN/HFN. As an example,        Q=HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Chan)    -   b. The hopping sequence can be formed as

F _(X) =[b′(i)+Q]mod _(Chan)  (15)

In embodiments, the hopping sequence is generated similarly as theBluetooth standard by applying a permutation operator “Perm” as follows:

F _(X)=Perm [X,P,T]  (16)

where

X=[b+Q]mod N _(Chan)  (17)

and P and T are function of PCI and/or HFN/SFN. In embodiments,

X=[b′+Q]mod N _(Chan)  (18)

where b′ is obtained as a cyclic shift version of the base sequence b:as an example b′ is given by equation (14). In one example,Q=HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Chan) where A_(x:y) ^(N) ^(Chan) indicates that bitx to y are used for a representation of A in base N_(Chan).

In embodiments, the Perm function is obtained by reusing the Perm5function defined in Bluetooth standard with some modification asillustrated in FIG. 3. Depending on the value of N_(Chan), multiplemodified Perm5 can be used in parallel such that the block Perm can takeat least N_(Chan) entries. For instance, for N_(Chan)=50, the Permoperator can be as illustrated in FIG. 4. In embodiments, as an exampleP13:0=[PCI+512*HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Chan) ]mod 4096 orP_(13:0)=[PCI*N_(chan)̂(|end:1|)+HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Chan) ]mod. 4096. Inembodiments, T=HFN mod N_(Anch). In embodiments, if N_(Chan)=50 the Permoperator described in FIG. 4 can be used as is. In one, embodiment, ifN_(Chan)=˜50, the Penn operator can be changed such that only N_(Anch)rows are used. This is done either through the control bits or byadjusting the number of repeated elements of the modified Perm5. Forexample: if N_(chan)=45, only 9 modified Perm5 are necessary; ifN_(chan)=49, 10 modified Perm5 are necessary and P_({10,8,7,4,3})=0,while for instance P_({13,12,11,9,6,5,2,1,0})=[HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Anch)+PCI]mod 512 for the last modified Perm5, while for all the othersP_(13:0)=[PCI+512*HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Chan) ]mod 4096 orP_(13:0)=[PCI*N_(chan)̂(|end:1|)+HFN_(end:1) ^(N) ^(Chan) ]mod 4096. Inembodiments, if N_(Chan) is either 16 or 32, the eMTC-U design can bereused, and given a base sequence b(i) the hopping sequence can begenerated similarly as Bluetooth by using a Perm5 operator, which isillustrated in FIG. 2, as follows:

F _(X)=Perm5 [X,P]  (19)

where for N_(Chan)=32:

X=b(SFN_(4:0) xor PCI_(4:0))+SFN_(9:5), and P=SFN_(9:5)+32*PCI  (20)

while for N_(Chan)=16:

X=b(SFN_(3:0) xor PCI_(3:0))+SFN_(7:4), and

P _({13,12,11,9,6,5,2,1,0})=(SFN_(9:4)*8) xor PCI, and  (20)

P_({10,8,7,4,3})=0

In embodiments, if N_(Chan)=48, the hopping sequence can be generated asa concatenation of two sequences: one sequence obtained as ifN_(Chan)=32 and one sequence obtained as if N_(Chan)=16, both followingthe methodologies provided above. For instance the hopping sequence canbe obtained as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{F_{x} = \{ \begin{matrix}{{Perm}\; 5( {X_{32},P_{32}} )} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} T} \neq 0} \\{{Perm}\; 5( {X_{16},P_{16}} )} & {otherwise}\end{matrix} } & (21)\end{matrix}$

where X32, P32, X16, P16, and T depends on PCI, SFN/HFN. In embodiments,given a base sequence composed of 48 elements, the first 32 elementscompose a subset of base sequence which we indicate with b32, while theremaining 16 elements compose a subset of the base sequence which weindicate with b16. In embodiments, the first 16 elements of b composeb₁₆, while the remaining 32 compose b₃₂. In embodiments, if b=[b₃₂,b₁₆], then as an example X₃₂=b₃₂(SFN′_(4:0) xor PCI_(4:0))+SFN_(9:5),P32SFN_(9:5)=32*PCI, X₁₆=b₁₆(SFN3:0 xor PCI_(3:0)+32)+SFN_(7:4), and thebit in position {13,12,11,9,6,5,2,1,0} for P₁₆ assume the valueP_(16 {13,12,11,9,6,5,2,1,0})=(SFN_(9:4)*8) xor PCI, while all the restof the bits have value 0. In embodiments, if b=[b₃₂, b₁₆], T can bechosen such that the sequence is built as a 32 sequence followed by a 16sequence, as illustrated in option a of FIG. 5. In another example, thehopping sequence is generated as a 32 sequence followed by a 16sequence, following a 16 sequence that is followed by a 32 sequence, asillustrated in option b of FIG. 5. Similar embodiments can be made ifb=[b₁₆, b₃₂]. In various embodiments, if N_(Chan)=50, the hoppingsequence can be generate as a concatenation of three sequences: onesequence obtained as if N_(Chan)=32, one sequence obtained as ifN_(Chan)=16, and one sequence obtained if N_(Chan)=2. For the sequenceobtained assuming N_(Chan)=32, and N_(Chan)=16, the methodologiesprovided above can be used, with some minor changes in some embodiments:the first change is related to SFN′ which now needs to be replaced withSFN″ which is equal to SFN″=SNF−2*cell(SFN′/50); and the second changeis related to the sequence b(i), which will need to be replaced with b′and its generation is provided later in this section.

In various embodiments, the hopping sequence can be obtained accordingto the following procedure:

-   -   a. first form the sequence for N_(Chan)=2. In this case, given a        sequence b(i) comprising 50 total elements, the sequence for        N_(Chan)=2 may be obtained by firstly down-selecting only M        elements to form a sequence c(i). One of the mechanisms        described previously related to anchor channel can be used,        where SFN′ is substituted. with SFN′″, wherein        SFN′″=SFN″−48*floor(SFN′/50). Additionally, b′=[d, b′₃₂, b′₁₆],        where d comprises two elements, and is a pair of elements        obtained from the sequence for N_(Chan)=2, while [b′₃₂, b′₁₆]        are all other elements of b which are not yet used to form the        sequence for N_(Chan)=50.    -   b. The sequence for N_(Chan)=32 is formed as Perm5 (X₃₂,P₃₂) ,        where X₃₂=b_(32′)(SFN″_(4:0) xor PCI_(4:0))+SFN″_(9:5),        P₃₂=SFN″_(9:5)+32*PCI.    -   c. The sequence for N_(Chan)=16 is formed as Perm5 (X₁₆, P₁₆),        where X₁₆=b_(16′)(SFN″_(3:0) xor PCI_(3:0)+32)+SFN″_(7:4), and        the bit in position {13,12,11,9,6,5,2,1,0} for P₁₆ assume the        value P_(16 {13,12,11,9,6,5,2,1,0})=(SFN′″_(9:4)*8) xor PCI,        while all the rest of the bits have value 0.

The total sequence is formed by concatenating or continuously flippingsequence for N_(Chan)=32 and N_(Chan)=16, while the sequence forN_(Chan)=2 is added at the beginning, as shown by option A in FIG. 6.

The above described procedure is an illustrative example, and in variousembodiments, different variations can be formed using the procedurepreviously described, such as:

-   -   a. Sequence for N_(Chan)=2 followed by sequence N_(Chan)=32 and        N_(Chan)=16 (or their flipped version), which is shown by option        A in FIG. 6;    -   b. Sequence N_(Chan)=32 and N_(Chan)=16 (or their flipped        version) followed by sequence for N_(Chan)=2, which is shown by        option B in FIG. 6;

c. Sequence N_(Chan)=2 is in specific positions surrounded by sequenceN_(Chan)=32 and N_(Chan)=16 (or their flipped version), which is shownby option C in FIG. 6.

According to various embodiments, as an alternative of the procedureprovided above, the sequence can be obtained as follows:

-   -   a. First form the sequence for N_(chan)=2. In this case, given a        sequence b(i) comprises 50 total elements, the sequence for        N_(Chan)=2 may be obtained by firstly down-selecting only M        elements to form a sequence c(i). One of the mechanisms        described previously related to anchor channel can be used,        where SFN′ is substituted with SFN′″, wherein        SFN′″=SFN″−48*floor (SFN′/50). Additionally, b′=[d, b′₃₂, b′₁₆],        wherein d is fixed and comprises two elements, and the length-2        sequence defines the position of where the two elements in d        will appear in the length-50 sequence. b′₃₂ and b′₁₆ are the        rest of elements of the sequence b excluding the two elements in        d.    -   b. The sequence for N_(Chan)=32 is formed as Perm5(X₃₂, P₃₂),        where X₃₂=b_(32′)(SFN″_(4:0) xor PCI_(4:0))+SFN″_(9:5),        P₃₂=SFN″_(9:5)=32*PCI, and SFN′″=SFN″−48*floor(SFN′/50).    -   c. The sequence for N_(Chan)=16 is formed as perm5 (X₁₆,P₁₆),        where X₁₆=b_(16′)(SFN″_(3:0) xor PCI_(3:0) +32)+SFN″_(7:4), and        the bit in position {13,12,11,9,6,5,2,1,0} for P₁₆ assume the        value P_(16 {13,12,11,9,6,5,2,1,0})=(SFN″_(9:4)*8) xor PCI,        while all the rest of the bits have value 0. As for the previous        step, SFN′″=SFN″−48*floor(SFN′/50). The total sequence is formed        by concatenating or continuously flipping sequence for        N_(Chan)=32 and N_(Chan)=16, while the value in d are added in        the positions defined through the length-2 sequence. An example        is shown by FIG. 7.

The procedures described previously used N_(Chan)=50 as an illustrativeexample, but the embodiments herein may be applicable to any other caseswith some modifications. For example, the procedure provided above canbe reused in case N_(Chan)={51,52, . . . 63} or the like. Consider thecase of N_(Chan)=64 channels, where 63 channels are for data and one isan anchor channel. If the anchor channel is treated as all the other 63data channels, and its occurrence must be random, in various embodimentsthe hopping sequence can be generated as a concatenation oflength-32−length (32) sequence, or in alternative as a combination oflength-16 and length-32 sequence or only using concatenation oflength-16 sequences using one of the methods described above for thecase when N_(Chan)=48. In various embodiments, the length-16 andlength-32 sequences are generated in the same way it has been agreed ineMTC-U to limit specification impact.

In various embodiments, the sequence may be generated as follows:

-   -   1. Generate a sequence b(i) containing 64 elements ({0, . . .        63}), that have a specific ordering. In various embodiments, the        sequence b(i) is obtained from Table I, by selecting the        sequence of elements lower than N_(Chan), which leads to the        sequence provided in Table 5.

TABLE 5 b(i) sequence i b(i) 1 0 2 23 3 62 4 8 5 43 6 16 7 47 8 19 9 6110 29 11 59 12 22 13 52 14 63 15 26 16 31 17 2 18 18 19 11 20 36 21 5422 21 23 3 24 37 25 10 26 34 27 7 28 4 29 60 30 27 31 12 32 25 33 14 3457 35 41 36 32 37 9 38 58 39 45 40 20 41 39 42 13 43 33 44 50 45 56 4642 47 48 48 15 49 5 50 17 51 6 52 49 53 40 54 1 55 28 56 55 57 35 58 5359 24 60 44 61 51 62 38 63 30 64 46This is only an example and sequence(s) composed by 64 unique elementsfrom 0 to 63, and any other options that are disclosed herein on how toform it can be also used.

-   -   3. Divide the sequence into two groups such that b(i)=[b′(i),        b″(i)], where b′ and b″ are both composed by 32 elements each.    -   4. Scramble the sequence using a new operator Perm6 which is an        extension of the operator Perm5, and takes 6 inputs bits and 6        outputs bits and N controlling bits. In this case, the sequence        may be generated as follows:

F _(X64)=Perm6 [b′(SFN′_(5:0) xor PCI_(5:0))+SFN′_(9:6),SFN′_(9:6)+64*PCI]  (22)

In various embodiments, the sequence can be generated using a Perm5operator as follows. Generate a sequence c(i), which is equivalent tothe sequence provided in Table 5 or any other sequence of length-64composed by 64 unique elements from 0 to 63 using one of the optionsthat discussed herein. The final sequence may be generated as followsfrom a length-32 sequence obtained using one of the methodologiesdiscussed herein:

F _(X64) =c(f(F _(x32)+32*Y))  (23)

where F_(x32) is a sequence length-32, for instanceF_(x32)=Perm5(b_(32′)(SFN′_(4:0) xor PCI_(4:0))+SFN′_(9:5),SFN′_(9.5)+32*PCI), while f(x) is a function used to further scrambleand randomize the sequence, and Y is a function that provides eithervalue 0 or 1, and it can be function of PCI and SFN′.As an example,

-   -   Y=SFN′₅, Y=which is equivalent to Y=mod(floor(SFN′/32),2);    -   Y=SFN′₀, which is equivalent to Y=mod(SFN′,2)    -   Y=mod(F_(x32),2);        As an example f(x) can be one of following functions:    -   f(x)=(x xor PCI_(5:0))+SFN′_(9:6)    -   f(x)=mod(x+B, 64) where B is proportional to SFN′.        In various embodiments, the length-64 sequence can be generated        using a similar procedure by using a concatenation of 4        length-16 sequences, or 1 length-32 and 2 length-16 sequences,        but the principles described above would remain the same.

In one embodiment, a sequence with a longer periodicity can begenerated. For instance, the sequence can be expanded from 1024 to 2048unrepeated elements. In order to do so, a legacy eMTC lengh-32 sequenceis modified and formed as follows:

F _(x32)′=Perm5 [X,P]

where X=mod(b(SFN_(4:0) xor PCI_(4:0))+SFN_(9:5),32), andP=SFN_(10:5)+64*PCI_(7:0) and the length-64 sequence is obtained by thefollowing equation:

F _(x64) =c(mod{[F _(x32)′+32*SFN′₆] xor PCI_(5:0)+SFN′_(10.6)}64)

Consider the case of N_(Chan)=64 channels, where 63 channels are fordata and one is an anchor channel, but differently than the previouscase the anchor has a fixed location. In various embodiments, thesequence is generate using the following approach.

-   -   1. Select the hopping number in the sequence over which the        anchor channel is expected to occur, for instance hop 0;    -   2. Generate a sequence length-64 using one of the procedures        described above.    -   3. Remove from the sequence all the time one of the elements        corresponding to the same value, for instance 63.    -   4. Add in the position selected in step 1, the specific value        that has been removed in step 3.

As an example, consider a sequence length-10, and how the aforementionedprocedure would apply in this case. Assume the original length-10sequence is as follows:

-   -   0 3 6 8 1 2 7 4 9 5-1 3 7 5 9 4 2 8 6 0-5 9 4 3 2 0 8 6 1 7

Now, assume the anchor channel has to occur in the first hop every time,then we remove element 0 from the sequence, which will become a length-9sequence:

-   -   3 6 8 1 2 7 4 9 5-1 3 7 5 9 4 2 8 6-5 9 4 3 2 8 6 1 7        Finally the sequence length-10 is reformed by adding 0 in the        first position of each length-9 sequence:    -   0 3 6 8 1 2 7 4 9 5-0 1 3 7 5 9 4 2 8 6-0 5 9 4 3 2 8 6 1 7        Notice that a similar approach can be adopted if the number of        anchor channels is more than 1, and the total number of channels        is N_(Chan)=64.

As alternative to the embodiment described above, when N_(Chan)=64channels; where 63 channels are for data and one is an anchor channelwhich is in a fixed location, the following procedure may be used:

-   -   1. Select the hopping number in the sequence over which the        anchor channel is expected to occur, for instance hop 0;    -   2. Generate a sequence length-64 using one of the procedures        described above.    -   3. Reorder the sequence such that the element corresponding to        the anchor channel corresponds to the first element.    -   4. The following elements of the new sequence are the elements        of the original sequence ordered moving forward or backwards        from where the element corresponding to the anchor channel        occurs.

As an example, consider a sequence length-10, and how the aforementionedprocedure would apply in this case. Assume the original length-10sequence is as follows:

-   -   0 3 6 8 1 2 7 4 9 5-1 3 7 5 9 4 2 8 6 0-5 9 4 3 2 0 8 6 1 7        Assume the anchor channel has to occur in the first hop every        time. By following the previously described procedures by        reordering the original sequence moving backwards from element        corresponding to the anchor channel, the following sequence may        be obtained:    -   0 5 9 4 7 2 1 8 6 3-0 6 8 2 4 9 5 7 3 1-0 2 3 4 9 5 7 1 6 8        In case the ordering is done moving forward from element        corresponding to the anchor channel, the following sequence may        be obtained:    -   0 3 6 8 1 2 7 4 9 5-0 1 3 7 5 9 4 2 8 6-0 8 6 1 7 5 9 4 3 2        A similar approach may be adopted if the number of anchor        channels is more than 1 and the total number of channels is        N_(Chan)=64. In various embodiments, the window within which the        anchor channel floats is fixed and can be, for example, N=2,        N=4, N=8, or N=16. in some embodiments, the position where the        anchor occurs is fixed (i.e., W[1,2, . . . N]) and it repeats        every N elements. In embodiments, W is a pseudorandom sequence        obtained as follows:

If N=4, as an example the sequence may be generated as follows:

W=Perm5(X1,P1)+1  (24)

where

X1=mod(b4(PCI_(1:0)+1)+SFN′_(7:6),4)

P1=[0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0];

P1([1])=xor (SFN′₉, PCI₀)

Where b4 is a lengh-4 sequence, which can be for example b4=[0 1 3 2];

-   -   If N=8, as an example the sequence may be generated as follows:

W=Perm5(X1,P1)+1  (24)

where

X1=mod(b8(PCI_(2:0)+1)+SFN′_(8:6),8)

P1([0,2,6])=xor (SFN′₁₀, PCI_(2:0))

Where b8 is a lengh-8 sequence, which can be for example b8=[0 1 3 5 2 76 4];If N=2, the anchor position can follow a fix pattern, e.g., 1 2, or 2 1.If N=16, the anchor position pattern can be generated using one of themethods described herein for a length-16 sequence. In variousembodiments, the procedure provided above to generate a sequence whichcontains an anchor channel randomly switched position in a boundedwindow, can be applied to any of the length-64 sequences describedherein.

In some scenarios, the anchor channel is transmitted multiple times bythe eNB if the eNB operates as a hybrid system and the UE operates as anFH system. In these scenarios, the UE must skip some of the frequencyhopping elements in each frequency hop set in order to receive theanchor information transmitted by the eNB. However, there is noguarantee that the UE will utilize equally all the channels since theskipping is done over a random hop set.

In various embodiments, in order to comply with FCC regulation(s), thesequence can be generated using one of the methodologies discussedherein, and then the sequence is shrunk to the number of channels overwhich the UE hops when it is not in receiving mode. For example, if theUE uses 64 channels, and the anchor is repeated 4 times, the sequence isreduced to 60 elements by removing element 59-63, such that the sequenceis now a lengh-60 pseudo random sequence, e.g.,:

0 26 23 2 10 22  3 8 52

29 36 16 34

18

37 31

59 4 27 21 19 25 47 54 12 43 11 7 41 15 57 6 24 56 55  9 48 42 13 40 5853 32 17 33 35 5 30 50 51 38 1 39 14 20 28 46 45 49 44

The elements of the sequence correspond to the channel index for thosechannel over which the UE transmits. Then the channel indexcorresponding to the anchor channel indicated with “A” is then added tothe shrunk version of the original sequence in those positions where theLTE is expected to puncture the sequence because it will actually be inreceiving mode. For example, if the anchor is transmitted periodicallyevery 16 hops starting from the first hop, based on the example above,the sequence is:

A 0 26 23 2 10 22 3  8 52 29 36 16 34 18 37 A 31 59 4 27 21 19 25 47 5412 43 11 7 41 15 A 57 6 24 56 55  9 48 42 13 40 58 53 32 17 33 A 35  530 50 51 38 1 39 14 20 28 46 45 49 44

In one embodiment, the procedure above can be used for everymethodologies discussed herein, and for every length of the sequence aswell as for every patterns of the anchor channel. In some embodiments,in order to account for the anchor channels, and in order to account fortheir skipping the length-64 sequence is generated by using SFN″ insteadof SFN′, where SFN″=SFN′−└SFN′/64•M┘ where M is the number of anchorchannels occurring within a hop set.

Hopping Sequence with Constraint

In embodiments, the hopping sequence can be generated such that thechannels between two consecutive hops are close to each other, and notfurther than a certain distance in frequency domain. In embodiments, thesequence can be obtained as follows:

-   -   1. Generate all possible permutations given the whitelist Φ with        dimension T=|Φ|, which would result in a matrix of dimension        T!×T. For instance given T=4:    -   perm(Φ)=[4, 3,2,1; 4,3,1,2; 4,2,3,1; 4,2,1,3; 4,1,3,2; 4,1,2,3;        3,4,2,1; 3,4,1,2; 3,2,4,1; 3,2,1,4; 3, 1,4,2; 3,1,2,4; 2,4,3,1;        2,4,1,3; 2,3,4,1; 2,3,1,4; 2,1,4,3; 2,1,3,4; 1,4,3,2; 1,4,2,3;        1,3,4,2; 1,3,2,4; 1,2,4,3; 1,2,3,4];    -   2. For the set perm(Φ), remove all the row that contain elements        such that adjacent elements are spread more than a certain value        M (i.e, |a_(i)−a_(i+1)|>=M). Also remove all the row, such as        the last element of a row and the first element of the next row        are too much spread. In this particular case, if M=2 the set        Ψ={perm(Φ)\ Y_(z)⊂perm(Φ)|z: |a_(i)−a₁₊₁|>=M}, is the same as        perm(Φ), while for M=1 the set Ψ would Ψ={0,3,2,1;1,2,3,4};    -   3. The hopping set is then obtained by indexing a specific        element of Ψ, which can be function of PCI, SFN/HFN. For        instance the hopping sequence can be Ψ{[PCI+floor(SFN′/|Φ|)]mod        |Ψ|+1, SFN′ mod |Φ|+1}, where SFN′ is function of SFN, and or        HFN.

Primary and Secondary Anchor Channel

In various embodiments, multiple anchors can be defined. In variousembodiments, a primary and a secondary anchor channel may be defined. Inembodiments, the primary anchor channel(s) may comprise one of thefollowing: U-NPSS/U-NSSS U-PBCH and DL control and data transmission. Inembodiments, the secondary anchor channel(s) may comprise U-NPSS/U-NSSSand may not include U-PBCH. In embodiments, the secondary anchor channelmay include both U-NPSS/U-NSSS and U-PBCH. In embodiments, the secondaryanchor or anchors are configured in system information block type 1(SIB1). In embodiments, the secondary channel may occur periodically intime, but over a different frequency channel. In some cases, an exactposition of the secondary anchor channel(s) may be determined orcalculated based on SFN′ and PCI based on the how the frequency hoppingsequence (or frequency hopping pattern) is generated. In variousembodiments, the secondary anchor channels and the primary anchorchannel may be transmitted evenly over time (e.g., primary in first hopand secondary in 33th hop for 64 channels). In various embodiments, thesecondary channel occurs in time after X hops, where X can be eitherfixed or configured. In embodiments, if multiple anchor channels aretransmitted, the secondary anchor channels may be transmitted separatedover each other through a specific offset value, which may be a fixedvalue or configured.

In Example 1, an apparatus for an evolved Node B (eNB) is configured tooperate in a Multefire (MF) narrowband internet-of-things (NB IoT) cellover unlicensed spectrum, the apparatus comprising: memory andprocessing circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is to:communicate with one or more user equipments (UEs) over a specifiednumber N of data channels separated in frequency where N=64; wherein thefrequencies of the data channels are specified by a frequency hoppingsequence F_(X64) that is a function of a frequency hopping index denotedas SFN or SFN′, wherein both SFN and SFN′ are proportional to a systemframe number, and a function of a cell identity (PCI); encode an anchorchannel for transmission to the one or more UEs at a fixed frequencyinterspersed in time with the data channels; and, wherein the frequencyhopping index SFN or SFN′ is made such that the data channels arenumbered consecutively in accordance with the system frame number whileskipping the anchor channels that are interspersed therewith.

In Example 2, an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) is configured tooperate in a Multefire (MF) narrowband internet-of-things (NB IoT) cellover unlicensed spectrum, the apparatus comprising: memory andprocessing circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is to:communicate with an evolved Node B (eNB) over a specified number N ofdata channels separated in frequency where N=64; wherein the frequenciesof the data channels are specified by a frequency hopping sequenceF_(X64) that is a function of a frequency hopping index denoted as SFNor SFN′, wherein both SFN and SFN′ are proportional to a system framenumber, and a function of a cell identity (PCI);

-   -   calculate the frequency hopping sequence F_(X64) as:

F _(X64)=(c([F _(x32)′+32*SFN′₅])⊕PCI_(5:0)+SFN′_(10:6))mod 64

where c(i) is an indexed length-64 sequence stored in memory that iscomposed of 64 unique elements from 0 to 63, “⊕” is the exclusive-oroperation, SFN′_(n) is the nth bit of the binary representation of SFN′,SFN′_(m:n) denotes the mth through nth bits of the binary representationof SFN′, PCI_(m:n) denotes the mth through nth bits of the binaryrepresentation of the cell identity PCI, F_(x32)′ is calculated as:

F _(x32)′=Perm5 [X,P]

where Perm5 is an operator that permutes a 5-bit input vector X inaccordance with a 14-bit control vector P to result in a 5-bit output,where X is calculated as:

X=(b(SFN_(4:0)⊕PCI_(4:0))+SFN_(9:5))mod 32,

where b(i) is an indexed length-32 sequence stored in memory that iscomposed of 32 unique elements from 0 to 31, and where P is calculatedas:

P=SFN_(10:5)+64*PCI_(7:0).

Example 1 may further comprise a radio transceiver; wherein the memoryis further configured to store the frequency hopping sequence, the b(i)sequence, and/or the c(i) sequence; wherein the processing circuitry isfurther to:calculate the frequency hopping sequence F_(X64) as:

F _(X64)=(c([F _(x32)′+32*SFN′₅])⊕PCI_(5.0)+SFN′_(10:6))mod 64

where c(i) is an indexed length-64 sequence that is composed of 64unique elements from 0 to 63, “⊕” is the exclusive-or operation,SFN′_(n) is the nth bit of the binary representation of SFN′, SFN′_(m:n)denotes the mth through nth bits of the binary representation of SFN′,PCI_(m:n) denotes the mth through nth bits of the binary representationof the cell identity PCI, F_(x32)′ is calculated as:

F _(x32)′=Perm5 [X,P]

where Perm5 is an operator that permutes a 5-bit input vector X inaccordance with a 14-bit control vector P to result in a 5-bit output,where X is calculated as:

X=(b(SFN_(4:0)⊕PCI_(4:0))+SFN_(9:5))mod 32,

where b(i) is an indexed length-32 sequence that is composed of 32unique elements from 0 to 31, and where P is calculated as:

P=SFN_(10:5)+64*PCI7:0;

wherein the sequence c(i) is defined as:

-   -   c(i)={0,23,62,8,43,16,47,19,61,29,59,22,52,63,26,31,2,18,11,36,54,21,3,37,10,34,7,4        ,60,27,12,25,14,57,41,32,9,58,45,20,39,13,33,50,56,42,48,15,5,17,6,49,40,1,28,        55,35,53,24,44,51,38,30,46}; wherein the sequence b(i) is        defined as:    -   b(i)={0,14,1,16,24,11,22,3,12,13,9,19,5,25,2,17,8,23,15,28,10,27,29,        21,7,31,6,20,30,4,18,26}; wherein the processing circuitry is        further to encode an anchor channel for transmission to the one        or more UEs at a fixed frequency interspersed in time with the        data channels; and/or wherein the frequency hopping index SFN or        SFN′ is replaced with a frequency hopping index SFN″ calculated        as:

SFN″=SFN′−└(SFN′/64)*M┘

where “

” is the floor operator and where M is the number of anchor channelstransmitted during the course of 64 consecutive frequency hops.

Example 2 may further comprise a radio transceiver; wherein the memoryis further configured to store the frequency hopping sequence, the b(i)sequence, and/or the c(i) sequence; wherein the sequence c(i) is definedas:

-   -   c(i)        ={0,23,62,8,43,16,47,19,61,29,59,22,52,63,26,31,2,18,11,36,54,21,3,37,10,34,7,4        ,60,27,12,25,14,57,41,32,9,58,45,20,39,13,33,50,56,42,48,15,5,17,6,49,40,1,28,        55,35,53,24,44,51,38,30,46}.        wherein the sequence b(i) is defined as:    -   b(i)={0,14,1,16,24,11,22,3,12,13,9,19,5,25,2,17,8,23,15,28,10,27,29,        21,7,31,6,20,30,4,18,26}; wherein the processing circuitry is        further to receive an anchor channel from the eNB at a fixed        frequency interspersed in time with the data channels; wherein        the frequency hopping index SFN or SFN′ is replaced with a        frequency hopping index SFN″ calculated as:

SFN″=SFN′−└(SFN′/64)*M┘

where “

” is the floor operator and where M is the number of anchor channelstransmitted during the course of 64 consecutive frequency hops; and/orwherein the frequency hopping index SFN or SFN′ is replaced with afrequency hopping index SFN″ such that the data channels are numberedconsecutively in accordance with the system frame number while skippingthe anchor channels that are interspersed therewith.

In Example 3, a computer readable medium comprises instructions forcarrying out the functions of the processing circuitry in Examples 1 or2.

In Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G systems, a mobile terminal (referredto as a User Equipment or UE) connects to the cellular network via abase station (BS), referred to as an evolved Node B or eNB in LTEsystems and as a next generation evolved Node B or gNB in 5G or NRsystems. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of the components of a UE 1400and a base station (e.g., eNB or gNB) 1300. The BS 1300 includesprocessing circuitry 1301 connected to a radio transceiver 1302 forproviding an air interface. The UE 1400 includes processing circuitry1401 connected to a radio transceiver 1402 for providing an airinterface over the wireless medium. Each of the transceivers in thedevices is connected to antennas 1055. The antennas 1055 of the devicesfaun antenna arrays whose directionality may be controlled by theprocessing circuitry. The memory and processing circuitries of the LTand/or BS may be configured to perform the functions and implement theschemes of the various embodiments described herein.

The above detailed description includes references to the accompanyingdrawings, which thin). a part of the detailed description. The drawingsshow, by way of illustration, specific embodiments that may bepracticed. These embodiments are also referred to herein as “examples.”Such examples may include elements in addition to those shown ordescribed. However, also contemplated are examples that include theelements shown or described. Moreover, also contemplate are examples tousing any combination or permutation of those elements shown ordescribed (or one or more aspects thereof), either with respect to aparticular example (or one or more aspects thereof), or with respect toother examples (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or describedherein.

Publications, patents, and patent documents referred to in this documentare incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, as thoughindividually incorporated by reference. In the event of inconsistentusages between this document and those documents so incorporated byreference, the usage in the incorporated reference(s) are supplementaryto that of this document; for irreconcilable inconsistencies, the usagein this document controls.

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patentdocuments, to include one or more than one, independent of any otherinstances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In thisdocument, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that“A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unlessotherwise indicated. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and“in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respectiveterms “comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, theterms “including” and “comprising” are open-ended, that is, a system,device, article, or process that includes elements in addition to thoselisted after such a term in a claim are still deemed to fall within thescope of that claim. Moreover, in the following claims, the terms“first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and arenot intended to suggest a numerical order for their objects.

The embodiments as described above may be implemented in varioushardware configurations that may include a processor for executinginstructions that perform the techniques described. Such instructionsmay be contained in a machine-readable medium such as a suitable storagemedium or a memory or other processor-executable medium.

The embodiments as described herein may be implemented in a number ofenvironments such as part of a wireless local area network (WLAN), 3rdGeneration

Partnership Project (3GPP) Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network(UTRAN), or Long-Term-Evolution (LTE) or a Long-Term-Evolution (LTE)communication system, although the scope of the disclosure is notlimited in this respect. An example LTE system includes a number ofmobile stations, defined by the LTE specification as User Equipment(UE), communicating with a base station, defined by the LTEspecifications as an eNodeB.

Antennas referred to herein may comprise one or more directional oromnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas,monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas orother types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In someembodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna withmultiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture maybe considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) embodiments, antennas may be effectively separated to takeadvantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristicsthat may result between each of antennas and the antennas of atransmitting station. In some MIMO embodiments, antennas may beseparated by up to 1/10 of a wavelength or more.

In some embodiments, a receiver as described herein may be configured toreceive signals in accordance with specific communication standards,such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)standards including IEEE 802.11-2007 and/or 802.11(n) standards and/orproposed specifications for WLANs, although the scope of the disclosureis not limited in this respect as they may also be suitable to transmitand/or receive communications in accordance with other techniques andstandards. In some embodiments, the receiver may be configured toreceive signals in accordance with the IEEE 802.16-2004, the IEEE802.16(e) and/or IEEE 802.16(m) standards for wireless metropolitan areanetworks (WMANs) including variations and evolutions thereof, althoughthe scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect as they mayalso be suitable to transmit and/or receive communications in accordancewith other techniques and standards. In some embodiments, the receivermay be configured to receive signals in accordance with the UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) LTE communication standards.For more information with respect to the H-EE 802.11 and 1I-EE 802.16standards, please refer to “IEEE Standards for informationTechnology—Telecommunications and Information Exchange betweenSystems”—Local Area Networks—Specific Requirements Part 11 “Wireless LANMedium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY), ISO/11-C 8802-11:1999”, and Metropolitan Area Networks—Specific Requirements Part 16:“Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems,” May 2005and related amendments/versions. For more information with respect toUTRAN LTE standards, see the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)standards for UTRAN-LTE, release 8, March 2008, including variations andevolutions thereof.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and notrestrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or moreaspects thereof) may be used in combination with others. Otherembodiments may be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the artupon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is to allow thereader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. Itis submitted with the understanding that it will not be used tointerpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in theabove Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together tostreamline the disclosure. However, the claims may not set forth everyfeature disclosed herein as embodiments may feature a subset of saidfeatures. Further, embodiments may include fewer features than thosedisclosed in a particular example. Thus, the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with a claim standing on itsown as a separate embodiment. The scope of the embodiments disclosedherein is to be determined with reference to the appended claims, alongwith the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

1. An apparatus for an evolved Node B (eNB) configured to operate in aMultefire (MF) narrowband internet-of-things (NB IoT) cell overunlicensed spectrum, the apparatus comprising: memory and processingcircuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is to: communicate with oneor more user equipments (UEs) over a specified number N of data channelsseparated in frequency where N=64; wherein the frequencies of the datachannels are specified by a frequency hopping sequence FX64 that is afunction of a frequency hopping index denoted as SFN or SFN′, whereinboth SFN and SFN′ are proportional to a system frame number, and afunction of a cell identity (PCI); encode an anchor channel fortransmission to the one or more UEs at a fixed frequency interspersed intime with the data channels; wherein the frequency hopping index SFN orSFN′ is made such that the data channels are numbered consecutively inaccordance with the system frame number while skipping the anchorchannels that are interspersed therewith; and, wherein the memory isconfigured to store the frequency hopping sequence.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim I wherein the processing circuitry is further to: calculate thefrequency hopping sequence F_(X64) as:F _(X64)=(c([F _(x32)′+32*SFN′₅])⊕PCI_(5:0)+SFN′_(10:6))mod 64 wherec(i) is an indexed length-64 sequence stored in memory that is composedof 64 unique elements from 0 to 63, “ED” is the exclusive-or operation,SFN′_(n) is the nth bit of the binary representation of SFN′, SFN′_(m:n)denotes the mth through nth bits of the binary representation of SFN′,PCI_(m:n) denotes the mth through nth bits of the binary representationof the cell identity PCI, F_(x32)′ is calculated as:F _(x32)′=Perm5 [X,P] where Perm5 is an operator that permutes a 5-bitinput vector X in accordance with a 14-bit control vector P to result ina 5-bit output, where X is calculated as:X=(b(SFN_(4:0)⊕PCI_(4:0))+SFN_(9:5))mod 32, where b(i) is an indexedlength-32 sequence stored in memory that is composed of 32 uniqueelements from 0 to 31, and where P is calculated as:P=SFN_(10:5)+64*PCI_(7:0).
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein thesequence c(i) is defined as:c(i)={0,23,62,8,43,16,47,19,61,29,59,22,52,63,26,31,2,18,11,36,54,21,3,37,10,34,7,4,60,27,12,25,14,57,41,32,9,58,45,20,39,13,33,50,56,42,48,15,5,17,6,49,40,1,28,55,35,53,24,44,51,38,30,46}.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein thesequence b(i) is defined as:b(i)={0,14,1,16,24,11,22,3,12,13,9,19,5,25,2,17,8,23,15,28,10,27,29,21,7,31,6,20,30,4,18,26}.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein theprocessing circuitry is further to encode an anchor channel fortransmission to the one or more UEs at a fixed frequency interspersed intime with the data channels.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thefrequency hopping index SFN or SFN′ is replaced with a frequency hoppingindex SFN″ calculated as:SFN″=SFN′−└(SFN′/64)*M┘ where “

” is the floor operator and where M is the number of anchor channelstransmitted during the course of 64 consecutive frequency hops.
 7. Anapparatus for a user equipment (UE) configured to operate in a Multefire(MF) narrowband internet-of-things (NB IoT) cell over unlicensedspectrum, the apparatus comprising: memory and processing circuitry,wherein the processing circuitry is to: communicate with an evolved NodeB (eNB) over a specified number N of data channels separated infrequency where N=64; wherein the frequencies of the data channels arespecified by a frequency hopping sequence F_(X64) that is a function ofa frequency hopping index denoted as SFN or SFN′, wherein both SFN andSFN′ are proportional to a system frame number, and a function of a cellidentity (PCI); calculate the frequency hopping sequence F_(X64) as:F _(X64)=(c([F _(x32)′+32*SFN′₅])⊕PCI_(5:0)+SFN′+SFN′_(10:6))mod 64where c(i) is an indexed length-64 sequence stored in memory that iscomposed of 64 unique elements from 0 to 63, “⊕” is the exclusive-oroperation, SFN′_(n) is the nth bit of the binary representation of SFN′,SFN′_(m:n) denotes the mth through nth bits of the binary representationof SFN′, PCI_(m:n) denotes the mth through nth bits of the binaryrepresentation of the cell identity PCI, F_(x32)′ is calculated as:F _(x32)′=Perm5 [X,P] where Perm5 is an operator that per mutes a 5-bitinput vector X in accordance with a 14-bit control vector P to result ina 5-bit output, where X is calculated as:X=(b(SFN_(4:0)⊕PCI_(4:0))+SFN_(9:5))mod 32, where b(i) is an indexedlength-32 sequence stored in memory that is composed of 32 uniqueelements from 0 to 31, and where P is calculated as:P=SFN_(10.5)+64*PCI_(7:0); and, wherein the memory is configured tostore the frequency hopping sequence.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7wherein the sequence c(i) is defined as:c(i)={0,23,62,8,43,16,47,19,61,29,59,22,52,63,26,31,2,18,11,36,54,21,3,37,10,34,7,4,60,27,12,25,14,57,41,32,9,58,45,20,39,13,33,50,56,42,48,15,5,17,6,49,40,1,28,55,35,53,24,44,51,38,30,46}.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein thesequence b(i) is defined as:b(i)={0,14,1,16,24,11,22,3,12,13,9,19,5,25,2,17,8,23,15,28,10,27,29,21,7,31,6,20,30,4,18,26}.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein theprocessing circuitry is further to receive an anchor channel from theeNB at a fixed frequency interspersed in time with the data channels.11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the frequency hopping index SFN orSFN′ is replaced with a frequency hopping index SFN″ calculated as:SFN″=SFN′−└(SFN′/64)*M┘ where “

” is the floor operator and where M is the number of anchor channelstransmitted during the course of 64 consecutive frequency hops.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 10 wherein the frequency hopping index SFN or SFN′ isreplaced with a frequency hopping index SFN″ such that the data channelsare numbered consecutively in accordance with the system frame numberwhile skipping the anchor channels that are interspersed therewith. 13.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprisinginstructions to cause processing circuitry of a user equipment (UE),upon execution of the instructions by the processing circuitry, to:operate in a Multefire (MF) narrowband internet-of-things (NB IoT) cellover unlicensed spectrum; communicate with an evolved. Node B (eNB) overa specified number N of data channels separated in frequency where N=64;wherein the frequencies of the data channels are specified by afrequency hopping sequence F_(X64) that is a function of a frequencyhopping index denoted as SFN or SFN′, wherein both SFN and SFN′ areproportional to a system frame number, and a function of a cell identity(PCI); calculate the frequency hopping sequence F_(X64) as:F _(X64)=(c([F _(x32)′+32*SFN′₅])⊕PCI_(5:0)+SFN′_(10:6))mod 64 wherec(i) is an indexed length-64 sequence that is composed of 64 uniqueelements from 0 to 63, “⊕” is the exclusive-or operation, SFN′_(n) isthe nth bit of the binary representation of SFN′, SFN′_(m:n) denotes themth through nth bits of the binary representation of SFN′, PCI_(m:n)denotes the mth through nth bits of the binary representation of thecell identity PCI, F_(x32)′ is calculated as:F _(x32) ′=Perm5 [X,P] where Perm5 is an operator that permutes a 5-bitinput vector X in accordance with a 14-bit control vector P to result ina 5-bit output, where X is calculated as:X=(b(SFN_(4:0)⊕PCI_(4:0))+SFN_(9:5))mod 32, where b(i) is an indexedlength-32 sequence that is composed of 32 unique elements from 0 to 31,and where P is calculated as:P=SFN_(10:5)+64*PCI_(7:0).
 14. The medium of claim 13 wherein thesequence c(i) is defined as:c(i)={0,23,62,8,43,16,47,19,61,29,59,22,52,63,26,31,2,18,11,36,54,21,3,37,10,34,7,4,60,27,12,25,14,57,41,32,9,58,45,20,39,13,33,50,56,42,48,15,5,17,6,49,40,1,28,55,35,53,24,44,51,38,30,46}.
 15. The medium of claim 13 wherein thesequence b(i) is defined as:b(i)={0,14,1,16,24,11,22,3,12,13,9,19,5,25,2,17,5,23,15,25,10,27,29,21,7,31,6,20,30,4,18,26}.
 16. The medium of claim 13 further comprisinginstructions to receive an anchor channel from the eNB at a fixedfrequency interspersed in time with the data channels.
 17. The medium ofclaim 13 further comprising instructions that replace the frequencyhopping index SFN or SFN′ with a frequency hopping index SFN″ calculatedas:SFN″=SFN′−└(SFN′/64)*M┘ where “

” is the floor operator and where M is the number of anchor channelstransmitted during the course of 64 consecutive frequency hops.
 18. Themedium of claim 13 wherein the frequency hopping index SFN or SFN′ isreplaced with a frequency hopping index SFN″ such that the data channelsare numbered consecutively in accordance with the system frame numberwhile skipping the anchor channels that are interspersed therewith.